Authors

Title

Exploring the Intersection of Entrepreneurship Education and ABET Accreditation Criteria

Publication Date

2015

Journal

Journal of Engineering Entrepreneurship

Volume

6

Issue

2

First Page

44

Last Page

57

Abstract

Economic trends and a changing job market for college graduates have generated significant interest in graduating more engineers who possess entrepreneurship skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. This has led to significant growth in the delivery of entrepreneurship courses to engineering students; however, research shows that such courses are typically not part of the core engineering curriculum. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) establishes criteria for accrediting engineering programs and is a significant force in shaping the undergraduate curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to explore how an alignment of entrepreneurship education outcomes and ABET Criterion 3a-k, could catalyze the integration of the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge into engineering courses. Potential benefits of such an approach are the enhancement of mechanisms associated with achieving ABET accreditation while developing the entrepreneurial skills of engineering students.